Blue Engine Collaborative

We’re excited to kick off another cohort of the Newspack Revenue Development Program with these amazing publishers. Throughout the next six weeks of sprinting — and beyond, they will: 1. 𝐒𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬 to strengthen connections with their audiences and sponsors. 2. 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 to send the right message to the right people at the right time. 3. 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 of their newsletters with their subscribers. Looking forward to supporting these publishers as their incremental wins start to stack up! 💪

One of America’s most generous and creative newsroom leaders, Autumn Phillips, announced she’s signing off. We will miss her. Of all the precious things you could do in the last three years, you’ve devoted yourself to the cause of local news, creating incredible experiences, and being a great friend. You’ve led one of the most exciting local news projects, taking The Post and Courier statewide, with curiosity, rigor, and courage. You’ve challenged us to think bigger, to ask why other local newsrooms couldn’t be portals to adventures large and small: https://lnkd.in/gvXVH2VP You’ve warmly welcomed us and many other local news-ers to Charleston with a big heart and the clink of a glass. We are extremely grateful that people who love you the most will be seeing you more. From all of us at Blue Engine, wishing you the absolute best.

✨ In this week's LION newsletter ✨ 💸 BoiseDev's winning secret to selling newsletter ads 🤖 Sign up for our AI AMA on August 8 ❗ Secure your spot at the 2024 Summit and take a look at the latest sessions in our impressive lineup (feat. experts from Conecta Arizona, Cardinal News, The Center For Michigan | Bridge Michigan | BridgeDetroit, News Revenue Hub, Santa Cruz Local, Flatwater Free Press, Documented, Mississippi Free Press, The Green Line, 9 Millones, Spotlight Delaware, The Diversity Pledge Institute, Blue Engine Collaborative, The Sacramento Observer, and LION) https://lnkd.in/gMX5bJqf

Want to get better at encouraging audience habituation? Election season is the perfect time. It’s all about “+1’s” — and we’re not talking wedding invites. Funneling your newfound election audiences is, however, like building a relationship where every interaction counts. So, how do you ensure new folks stick around long after the election buzz has faded? This week in The Boost 🚀, we’re talking all about ways to encourage people to do just one more thing – 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑙 – taking cues from Al Jazeera Media Network, BBC News, LAist , The National News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Toronto Star and The Washington Post. Learn how to build lasting connections in the latest edition here: https://lnkd.in/g9R8FHQP 𝐁𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 +𝟏. Make sure you’re signed up for The Boost 🚀 to catch next week's edition, where we’ll look at how to convert engaged audiences into loyal, paying supporters: https://lnkd.in/gyWpgJE9

We are very delighted to welcome to the Blue Engine team Chris Peña as a coach, consultant and director of broadcast transformation. Chris has all the traits we admire around here: He's super kind and supportive, a big-picture strategic thinker, and an on-the-ground outcome-focused operator. For the last seven or so years he's been the SVP of local news at Univision. But now, Chris says, "I'm finally home." Chris has worked with Blue Engine on a number of projects, including Google News Initiative audience development programs in Peru and Chile, the Knight Foundation-Arizona State University Local Television News Innovation project, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Digital Transformation Program, in partnership with the Poynter Institute. Chris starts Sept. 1, but his DMs are open now. Welcome aboard Chris! 

Attention North American news publishers! This is your last chance to apply for the Google News Initiative Reader Loyalty and Retention Lab starting in August. From elections to extreme weather events and major sports triumphs — this lab is designed to help you turn any major news event into a long-term audience engagement opportunity. The deadline is Sunday, July 21, at midnight ET. ⏰  Apply now and take your engagement strategies to the next level: https://lnkd.in/gqRbKbxQ

It’s tough to stand out in search results during election season when everyone is clamoring for attention. In this week’s The Boost 🚀, we’re sharing SEO tips and examples from the likes of CalMatters, Grist, Postmedia Network Inc., ProPublica, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Texas Tribune, showing how they keep audiences hooked well beyond the initial buzz of election day. Catch up on the second installment in this five-part series on funneling election audiences here: https://lnkd.in/gfUdQjCZ Make sure you catch the entire series by signing up for The Boost 🚀: https://lnkd.in/gyWpgJE9

Is your newsroom ready to transform major news event viewers into long-term loyalists? 📈 Don’t miss your chance to be part of the Google News Initiative Reader Loyalty and Retention Lab for North American publishers. What’s in it for you? 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: Craft plans that capitalize on major news events that keep your audience engaged long after the buzz has faded. 𝐎𝐧𝐞-𝐨𝐧-𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠: You’ll get tailored help, whether you’re big or small, in the U.S. or Canada, to build, monetize, and retain your audience. 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Join a community of like-minded professionals in sharing strategies and growing together. 🕒 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: Midnight ET July 21st! This is your last week to secure a spot. https://lnkd.in/gqRbKbxQ

At the recent Kaleidoscope LIVE! Summit, hosted by the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund at Borealis Philanthropy, our Development Director, Cierra Hinton, gathered with leaders from across the spectrum to talk about how to best improve sustainability and collaborative growth in the BIPOC journalism ecosystem. (Cierra, a former publisher and REJ Fund grantee, now coaches some of Blue Engine’s “pods” for REJ grantees, including those on grassroots fundraising and major donor development.) Some of Kaleidoscope LIVE!’s highlights: 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐈𝐏𝐎𝐂-𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. Every newsroom leader spoke about the expansive, strategic ways they use news and information to serve their community’s diverse identities and needs. Sustainability requires making an impact with useful reporting – and reaching the widest net of prospective audiences in the process. 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐈𝐏𝐎𝐂 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦, 𝐭𝐨𝐨. We know that popular imagination and conversation are not solely shaped by print and digital news, but rarely do we find other types of content creators in journalism spaces. At Kaleidoscope, though, two film, (“One Million Experiments” and “Barrio Television”) were screened – a reminder that storytelling has many faces, and the more we collaborate across mediums the wider we can spread our reach. 𝐁𝐈𝐏𝐎𝐂-𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬. There’s a lot of interesting work happening in diversifying revenue streams, growing digital-paying supporters, receiving support from philanthropy regardless of tax status, gaining new sponsorships and digital advertisers, and showing that growth does not require you to compromise on your values; in fact, it requires you to lead with them. We’re excited about the roadmap in “Repair, Reimagine, and Rebuild: Modeling the Future of News For and By Black, Brown, and Indigenous Communities.” This pivotal report advocates for an annual investment of up to $7.1 billion to support BIPOC-led journalism in the U.S. You can delve into the details here: https://lnkd.in/eNb88Rk4 We're deeply grateful for the opportunity to support and learn alongside the remarkable entrepreneurial spirits at the organizations supported by the REJ Fund – with special thanks to DaLyah Jones, Jessica N., Manami Kano, and Alicia Bell. Their ongoing philanthropic and media leadership continues to inspire and drive meaningful change.

Where in the world is Maritza L. Félix today? Chances are, she's busy making everyone feel connected, seen, and heard — maybe while joining a virtual call while dashing to an airport gate between industry conferences. That's Maritza for you; she turns every interaction into a chance to bring people together, no matter how full her plate is. As the founder of Conecta Arizona, she has launched a vital Spanish-language news service that connects communities through WhatsApp, providing trust and crucial information. Why WhatsApp, you might ask? During the pandemic, as misinformation spread and travel halted, Maritza saw WhatsApp as a lifeline — not solely for news, but for keeping bonds strong, helping her own family in Mexico and many others stay informed and safe. It speaks to her lifetime of work, always blending a deep focus on community, unwavering dedication and a personal touch. Maritza's racked up some serious accolades during that lifetime, too, including John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford, Local Media Association’s Innovator of the Year, recipient of the Cecilia Vaisman Award for multimedia journalism, and yes, she’s an Emmy award-winning journalist 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟. Her impactful work spans platforms like Univision, Telemundo, and The Nation. But what really sets Maritza apart is how she dreams big and acts with precision. She envisioned a platform that does more than share information — it engages and empowers communities, setting a standard for others to follow. And she nails it every time, crafting content that deepens understanding and sparks dialogue. Whether she’s hosting La Hora del Cafecito on WhatsApp or sharing insights globally at conferences or with newfound colleagues she meets along the way, Maritza’s dedication to lifting up community voices never wavers. Thank you, Maritza, for your relentless optimism and support. You're a true beacon for everyone who needs it.